White House Refuses To Follow McConnell In Acknowledging Trump’s Election Defeat – Live | American news

Several media outlets have confirmed that McConnell and his deputies have implored their colleagues not to object to the election results on January 6, when Congress backs up the vote of the electoral college.

A handful of Trump allies in the House are planning a last-ditch challenge to try to reverse Biden’s victory. While the effort can disrupt the process, it is likely to fail.

According to outlets reporting the private conversation, McConnell warned that the campaign would put Republicans in a “terrible” position.

According to CNN, no Republican senator has expressed a desire to join the House.

Mitch McConnell, who reminded reporters that he is a polio survivor, said he would like to take the Covid-19 vaccine. He said he hopes his decision to take the photo will inspire others to follow suit.

“Any of us who have some following in the country should go one step further,” and take the vaccine, he said.

Senator John Barrasso, a Wisconsin Republican and a doctor cheered the introduction of the Pfizer vaccine and urged Americans to take it. “Register me as a doctor,” said Barrasso.

“As I have said repeatedly, No. 1, we are not leaving here without a Covid package. It’s not going to happen. … No matter how long it takes, we’ll be here until we get a Covid package,Mitch McConnell told reporters at a weekly press conference hours before meeting the “four corners” – the four leaders of Congress – to discuss a relief deal.

He said the best way to move forward is if Republicans and Democrats put aside the two main bottlenecks: Democrats ‘demands for additional funding for state and local governments and Republicans’ desire to have a liability shield to protect against coronavirus-related issues. lawsuits.

Referring to Biden, he said the “next government” has made it clear that it wants another bill in addition to the one passed by Congress this year. He said Democrats and Republicans could avoid state and local funding and liability protection negotiations until the next law.

Joe Biden has tapped Pete Buttigieg, his rival for the 2020 Democratic nomination, to head the transportation division, confirmed The Guardian’s Daniel Strauss.

The 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, helped the president-elect secure the nomination in March when he dropped out of the race and quickly threw his support behind Biden. He helped campaign and raise money for the Democratic ticket and was widely discussed as a potential member of Biden’s cabinet. The news was first reported by Reuters.

Neither a transition official for Biden nor a Buttigieg spokesperson confirmed the report.

McEnany closed the briefing by penalizing the media for reporting – or what she said was a lack of coverage – of a report that a Chinese spy was kidding California Congressman Eric Swalwell, a Democrat and vocal critic of the president taken. A group of House Republicans have called on Pelosi to remove Swalwell from his position on the House Intelligence Committee.

She also condemned the press for not making a bigger deal with the disclosure that Hunter Biden’s tax cases are under federal investigation. Almost all of the major outlets, including The Guardian, have covered the disclosure.

McEnany indicated that Trump would sign a possible coronavirus control deal if Congress leaders reach an agreement in the coming days. Trump has lobbied for cash direct payments to Americans, which were not included in the latest bipartisan framework. McEnany stressed that the White House’s priority was to bring relief to the American people, but declined to say whether he would get a bill that doesn’t include those payments.

She said Trump still planned to veto the $ 740 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill was passed by Congress with a veto-resistant majority.

When asked if Trump would support the Senate in including Biden’s cabinet nominees before being sworn in on January 20, McEnany called the scenario a “ hypothetical ” and said Trump has taken all steps to ensure a “Smooth transition or continuation of power.”

In response to a question from Guardian reporter David Smith about Trump’s future political ambitions, McEnany said she was still focused on Trump’s attempt to reverse the outcome of these elections. As such, she wouldn’t say if she would work for a possible Trump 2024 campaign.

When asked about the electoral college’s vote, McEnany said, “The president is still involved in pending lawsuits related to the election. Yesterday’s vote was a step in the constitutional process, so I leave that to him. ”

She said she has not spoken to Trump since McConnell recognized Biden as the president-elect and raised further questions about the president’s campaign.

Whether Trump will get the vaccine remains unclear. McEnany said he is “absolutely open” to taking the vaccine, but because he recovered from Covid-19 earlier this year, he didn’t believe he should be one of the first to get the vaccine. She said other senior government officials would receive the virus, but gave no names.

“The president wants to send a parallel message that our residents of long-term care facilities and our frontline workers come first and he wants to lead by example in that regard,” she said, adding, “I would be absolutely open to the take vaccine. “

McEnany is now addressing reporters from the briefing room, starting by stating that the nation had witnessed a “ medical miracle ” on Monday after Americans received the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine.

She began her comments by quoting a large number of news reports that suggested a vaccine was unlikely by the end of the year. “These reports deserve their own fact-checking: false,” she said.

“President Trump has not only been the optimist … he has also been a leader,” she said.